The Rise and Fall of Darkfire
by Lil-Rahl
Summary: It's Starfire's 'birthday,' and guess what's been giftwrapped? Betrayal. Now, Robin is missing, and the pained Starfire has changed...Can the Titans find their leader and help their friend? Chapter 10 is up! R&R!
1. All Great Things Must be Interrupted

**Disclaimer: Don't own DC Comic characters

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Chapter One

**All Great Things Must Be Interrupted**

**'Yet another day that was peaceful. My fellow Titans and I have been so bored lately' Starfire wrote down in her diary. 'Raven has finally stopped meditating, and is spending a lot of time reading out on the living area. Beast Boy and Cyborg are constantly playing their video game. Robin has been spending much of his time working out, which leaves me alone with my thoughts.' Star bit the end of her pen as she thought of the next sentence. 'I miss my friends, especially Robin. I wish he would figure out my true feelings. Robin was my very first friend when I came to Earth. My compassion for him is very strong.' She closed her book and set it aside for the day. It was about noon and the strange sound of silence was felt over the entire Tower. The feeling was sort of unusual, because Cyborg and Beast Boy were usually fighting over what game to play or who was cheating. She got up and walked gracefully to her vanity, sat down and brushed her hair. Star smiled at her reflection. She didn't consider herself pretty, but usually her friends would say something, mostly Robin. Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.**

**"Enter" Starfire stood up.**

**"Hi, Star." Robin entered the room with something hidden behind his back.**

**Starfire smiled. "Salutations Friend! What has brought you here?" She paused and looked at him. "What is behind your back?" Robin smiled and pulled out a dozen of purple tulips. "Oh! Robin."**

**"Since it's been boring, I thought you and I could go into town and watch a movie or go out to the arcade." Star's cheeks turned red.**

**"Oh! I would love to!" Starfire floated to the ceiling. "Wait, what about the others?"**

**"BB and Cyborg are looking into renting a few games for the night and Raven's out at this little cafe where they read depressing poetry. I'm bored and I know you are too. I thought we could...yaw know...go out on a date?"**

**"The dating experience would be eternally gratifying. Am I supposed to change?"**

**"I thought we could just go in our street clothes, act like average teenagers tonight."**

**"What is an average teenager?" Starfire pondered. Robin smiled. He always forgot that Star was from the planet Tamaran. The differences between the two planets' customs were great. **

**"Well...let's see." Robin headed for her closet and opened it. Inside were very few clothes. Robin's eye spotted a pretty, pale green, knee length dress. "Try this on," he handed it to her along with a pair of sandals. "When you're ready, come down to my room. I'm going to change as well." Robin smiled at her once more before walking out the door. Star's heart raced rapidly. Was this a dream? She pinched herself-nope not dreaming. She smiled as she undressed and slipped into her outfit. It was remarkable how the color went well with her hair. Though she usually kept it down, just tonight and just for Robin, she would wear it up. Starfire pulled her hair up into a bun, with some loose hair to frame her face. She put her sandals on and twirled in front of her mirror, before skipping out of her room and into the hallway. **

**Moments later Star knocked on Robin's door.**

**"Just a second!" she heard him call out. The door slid open seconds later. There he stood in a pair of blue jeans and a tight black t-shirt. This wasn't what Star was staring at, but the fact that he wasn't wearing his mask. **

**"What?" he shrugged his shoulders. **

**"Your mask. You are not wearing it." Starfire had never seen him without his mask on. She looked at his eyes. Such a pretty dark blue.**

**"Oh! I thought I could use I night without it." Robin smiled, walking out into the hallway. He then got a better look at Star. "Man, Starfire! You look great," she smiled at him, "That dress matches your eyes."**

**"Thank you." they smiled at each other for a minute or so before Robin reached for her hand.**

**"Well, let's go. I thought we could take my motorcycle." Star didn't argue. She knew she could just fly them their faster, but to hold on to him while he drove his bike! She wasn't going to give up any good chances with him. "Is that all right?"**

**"Of course." she answered with a smile still on her face. She was a little nervous when Robin started up the bike. The motor's energy pulsed between her inner thighs as she clung tight to him. The feeling was intoxicating-she wished it would happen again soon. While driving around town, the pair came across a fair going on at a beach on the outskirts of town. Starfire was excited, since she had never experienced the multitudes of people, laughing, enjoying various forms of entertainment that Starfire struggled to comprehend. The two enjoyed themselves immensely. Star held maybe a little to tight inside the haunted house, and she feared she had lost Robin in the mirror maze. Later on, with the sunlight seeming to fade, they crossed a man claiming that Robin couldn't ring the bell on a 'test-your-strength' game. Robin couldn't resist proving the man wrong. He walked up, grabbed the dumb-bell, and whacked the lever with all his might. The man running the game was shocked, and gave Robin a big teddy bear with a green bow tie, which he gave to Starfire. **

**Darkness overtook the sun and the stars came out to play, and the moon shown high above the couple. They chatted about everything that came to mind, mostly about all the villains that they had defeated, and their best memories. Star looked at Robin and smiled. The entire afternoon was a great memory, all on its own.**

**"Thanks for going out with me," Robin said, "I haven't had this much fun since...I can't remember."**

**"I should be in gratitude to you, Robin, for escorting me out. You were right, I was bored."**

**"Star, I have to be honest. This isn't the real reason I wanted you to go with me tonight," she looked with confusion at him. Robin took in a deep breath of fresh air and turn to face her. "I don't know if you feel the same way, though. Starfire, I...I...l-"**

**"There you two are," they heard Cyborg call out. They looked towards the road to see their three comrades in Cy's new car. "It's late and you two don't..." he paused for a moment, "Hey! Robin, where's your mask?"**

**"Must have left it at home," Robin slumped. "What do you guys want?" Beast Boy hopped out of the car and skipped over to them. **

**"It's movie night! We always get together on Movie night. It' a tradition."**

**Star got up and brushed the sand off her dress. **

**"Then we must go." She pulled Robin up. "Come Robin it is tradition."**

**"I guess," he scratched his head, "We'll be right behind you guys."**

**"Don't be late," BB open the passenger side door. "We're starting the popcorn when we get home."**

**Robin and Starfire walked together back to his bike. He was a little hurt that once again he didn't have a chance to speak his mind and tell Star about how he felt. The day wasn't all a loss-he did have fun. **

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**R&R Please. **

**Thank you! Lil-Rahl**


	2. To be or not to be That is not the quest...

**Disclaimer applys

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Chapter Two

**To Be or not To Be,**

**That is not the Question!**

**The next week in the Teen Titan Tower was rather dull. The city was calm and no crimes had been committed. Cyborg had been upset the past couple of days because of the prank Beast Boy played on him, involving toothpaste, a cookie sheet, and a toy car. The gruesome twosome weren't even talking, and Raven was now sulking in her room, which left Robin and Starfire hanging out together. Everyday the two would hop on Robin's R-Cycle and cruise around the city. Being new to Earth, Star enjoyed every sight and Robin loved showing it all to her. They spent so much time together that the other Titans wondered if there was anything else going on between the two. **

**Cyborg sat in the living room staring at the huge screen. Life was so dull when there were no criminals to take out. So he sat on the couch flipping through the channel before settling on a football game in it's second quarter. **

**"Hey, man," Robin popped in and sat next to him, "How's it hangin?" Cyborg laid his head back.**

**"To be honest, dull and boring. There's nothing to do anywhere."**

**"I don't know what to say."**

**"It sucks even more that we all don't spend any time together. I mean, you and Starfire are out just about everyday. Its like you twoare an item," Robin turned a bit red, "Are you?"**

**"No!" Robin quickly interjected. "I thought since we've had all these dull days lately, I'd take her out, so she could learn more about Earth." Robin lied. So Robin had a crush on Starfire. Who wouldn't? A cheerful disposition and a great smile. Who wouldn't go for a girl like that? "Why don't you give in to BB, so you can start your game tournaments?"**

**"BB's been spending more time down in the labs trying to figure out a cure to revive Terra." Robin thought back to Terra and how hurt Beast Boy was when she sacrificed herself to save the city. "The scientists are saying that they're getting pretty close. Probably another month or two."**

**"Really." Robin leaned back on the sofa, getting into the game.**

**Somewhere else**

_**Salutations, Book!**_

_**Yet another grateful day. Robin has been escorting me out to explore the city. I am intrigued by the **__**colorful art museum. I do not understand these Earth paintings. Robin says he has a problem understanding them, too. He also has taken me to another museum. I was very discouraged to see human remains behind glass. From what I have learned reading books, I was led to believe that humans buried their dead. Robin tells me that those bodies are thousand of years old. He also said that they are a part of human history. To that I say, "Man-kind is very strange". I have become accustomed to many new things such as paint guns, tarter sauce, and tiddly winks. I do apologize for stopping. I shall write at a later time.**_

_**SF**_

**Starfire placed her dairy on her side table and laid on her back. What a great week it hadbeen, though hidingthe feeling of love for him everyday seemed like a dreadful chore. Robin was always kind to her. He answered every question fromHitchcock to tipping cows. Robin never seemed to care how stupid her questions were. She guessed that was what she loved so much about him. **

**Raven was reading one of her books on Zen when Star knocked on her door. She shut her book with a dreadful groan.**

**"What do you want, Star?"**

**"Good afternoon, friend Raven." Star walked into the gothic-like room. She seemed to be the only bright spot in the entire room. "May I ask of your assistants?"**

**"What?"**

**"I require knowledge on human affection."**

**'What's to learn about?"**

**"On Tamaran, we are not afraid to show our emotion. I am wondering on how to tell when someone likes you."**

**"Star, you're talking to the wrong girl. I probably know as much about mushy stuff as you do."**

**"But you are human."**

**"Part-human. Ask Beast Boy. After all, he loves Terra."**

**"Very well. Thank you, Raven." Star walked out of her room.**

**"Whatever." Raven mumbled behind her book. Starfire walked into the living room and found Robin and Cyborg watching a human game that she was not aware of yet.**

**"Hello, friends. May I inquire as to where friend Beast Boy is?"**

**"Down in the lab or visiting Terra." Cyborg mumbled. **

**"Thank you, friend!" She smiled before floating down to the lab. No one really came down here, especially Star. She wasn't sure about the chemical testing. "Beast Boy! Beast Boy! Are you there?" She searched with no progress. She thought she would check to she if he had gone to visit Terra. She was right. There, beneath the tower, she found Beast Boy mourning over the fellow Titan. **

**"I miss her so much." Beast Boy spoke up. He had heard Star come near him."She laughed at my jokes. All my jokes."**

**"How did you know that she liked you?" Beast Boy turned to look at Star.**

**"Why do you want to know?"**

**"I require information on it. Ravendid not know and referred me to you."**

**"Really?" Star nodded. "Wow! Raven thought of me? Anyway, what do you want to know about it?"**

**"When di you notice?"**

**"That's an easy question. You just feel it, but to know if you're in love as well. Isn't that the real question?" Star looked at her feet, confused. This whole love thing was harder to understand. Maybe she would go to Robin.**

**"Thank you, Beast Boy," with that she sulked all the way up to the living room. Star floated towards the ceiling and rested there. Wondering if she should ask Robin. He was always the one who made the answers easy for her to understand.**

**"What'cha doing up there, Star?" Robin looked up at her. **

**"I am trying to figure out the how you humans show affection."**

**"Affection?"**

**"Yes! I require knowledge on the matter." Robin's face went a little red.**

**"Why don't you get off the ceiling and come up to the roof to talk about it?" Star nodded and followed him to the roof. There they sat where they usually did when they came to talk. "So now...you want to know more about affection? Is there a reason this came about?" Star thought for a second. She was sure she knew that she loved him. She knew that love was a greater feeling than like and the feeling inside her was more than liking. "Well?"**

**"Robin, I can't..."**

**"Do you have feelings for someone?"**

**Star nodded.**

**"Wow! Feelings for a guy? Um...do I know him?"**

**She nodded again.**

**"Okay, is he a Titan?" **

**Another nod.**

**"Now let me think." Robin closed his eyes as if in deep thought. He wondered if she meant him. After all they had spent a large amount of time together lately. "Star? Do you love me?" a knot formed down in Robin's stomach as he awaited her answer. **

**"Yes! I admit it! Please forgive me, Robin! I do not want to lose your friendship!" Star hid her face and began to cry. Robin could only sit there in shock. All this time he was trying to tell her loved her and she beat him to the punch. **

**"Star," he held her head up and wiped away her tears, "I have a confession to make."**

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**R&R **

**Thank you! lil-Rahl**


	3. Robin's Star

**Disclaimer applys

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Chapter Three

**Robin's Star**

**"Star, I love you too." Robin smiled. "I've been trying to tell you these past few days, but things kind a got in the way." Star looked up at Robin's face. His blue eyes were hidden behind the mask. She placed her hand to his cheek and caressed his skin. She felt his lip, his nose. his chin before finally grasping the mask and removing it. Robin blinked once or twice , before gazing at her with his pretty blues. They didn't speak, emotionally they drifted closer, closer until Robin could feel her lips barely brush up against his. He seizes the moment and kissed her. Star made a sharp in-take before realizing this kisses potential. It bonded them together. His touch was so light. Finally she felt her lips released and open her eyes to see Robin staring at her with a lop-sided grin o his face. **

**"Is that what you call a first kiss?" Starfire finally spoke up. Robin's smile deepens as his heart fell even more for her. He came closer again, but Star had the upper hand. She locked her arms around his neck and pulled him in for another kiss. Robin felt has if his entire body had gone into overdrive, the sensation against her lips was living in a dream. **

**The two were so busy, that they didn't realize Beast Boy, standing at the doorway jaw-dropped. He always knew that there was something going on between the two. Still... seeing Robin and Star kiss was sort of weird for the little green dude.**

**"Uh...Robin..Star.." Beast Boy finally spoke up. The couple split quickly, staring at Beast boy. "Um...hey. Are.. you..two-" **

**"Hey BB are they up here?" Star could hear Cyborg coming near. He peaked out of the door frame, behind Beast Boy. "What's going on? Robin? Star? BB?" **

**"Robin and Star." Were the only words Beast Boy could say. He still had to get over the sight of the two kissing.**

**"What were Robin and Star doing?" Cyborg asked. he looked at the couple, their faces were red. "BB! What the hell is going on."**

**"Robin kissing Star." Beast Boy blurted out. **

**"They kissed?", he nodded, "No kidding." Cyborg smiled at his two friends. "Robin, you told me there wasn't anything going on between you two."**

**"I guess there is." Robin smiled, while placing his arm around Star.**

**"Are you guys an item?" Beast Boy finally spoke up.**

**"Are we an 'item', Robin?" Starfire looked at him. The Boy Wonder stares into her pretty green eyes. Nothing else would make him happier than to call her his girl, but he knew the risk would be too great.**

**"Maybe not just yet. We should go inside and discuss it."**

**"What for?" Robin didn't ask, instead lead her into the living room. Cyborg and Beast Boy followed as well. The gathering of the friends in the living room becomes intriguing to Raven. She soon showed up to see what was up.**

**"So what are we going to do about you guys?" Cyborg asked ,shutting the curtains, just in case someone saw them. Robin looked at Starfire and smiled, he couldn't believe that all this time the girl of his dreams.**

**"I realize that having a relationship with Star could be dangerous.", he stated, "From now on Star and I can only show affection in the tower only. If one of our enemies found out, it would be used against us. It could even tear the Teen Titans apart." Everyone nodded in approval, including Starfire who agreed, but didn't really understand. Why was hiding her love from Robin so bad? He saw the confusion in her eyes, he smiled and placed her hands to his lips. "Are you all right?" Star nodded getting up and flew to her room. She guessed it was just another 'Earth' thing . "Starfire?", she heard him knocking at the door. "Are you all right?", she did not want to answer, with a sigh Starfire flew out the window. Robin listen for a replay, how long he waited. He never heard from her. Knowing that she was confused he figured that tomorrow would be a new day. The Boy Wonder walk slowly back to his room, every step he took felt he was walking away from everything. Moments later he slumped to his bed and pulled the covers up over his head. To tired and to worried to even notice that he was still wearing his uniform, Robin drifted into a fitful sleep.**

**A New Morning Dawns-**

**"Robin!"**

**"Wha?"**

**"Boy Wonder!"**

**"Yea?"**

**"GET UP!"**

**Robin jolted from his bed, he found Cyborg and Beast Boy staring at him**

**"What do you two want?", he scratched his head. **

**"It's almost noon.", Cyborg announced, "Figured you might want to get your sorry ass up."**

**"Yeah, I'll do that."**

**"Hurry up." Beast Boy crossed his arms. "We all planned to go to the mall today. Raven has even said that she'll join us." Robin got to his feet and stretched.**

**"Give me a couple of minutes to change." his comrades smiled and slowly retreated out of the room. Robin stood alone in the dark room. Dark was always comforting to him. His mentor, the 'Dark Knight', taught him that. Still, looking back, Robin could only think of Star as the only light in his life. No matter how stupid he sounded or if he got mad. She would stand by his side. He always thought that was why he liked her, but it was her compassion to be his friend that set his heart out for her. He enter the living room a half hour later, clean, refreshed and above all in love.**

**"Well you look sharp." Beast Boy said as he tied up his shoes. Robin thought it was awkward to see him in casual clothing, but so was he. Robin entered wearing cargo jeans and a gray hoodie. **

**"Are we ready?"**

**"No!" Beast Boy snapped. "Starfire has her room locked up and she isn't answering. Raven is flying up to her window to coax her out." Robin's thought stopped for a moment. He remember trying to talk to Star last night with any luck. The feeling of dread fell into his gut. The feeling that she's not there. He slowly got up and walked up the stair to the door the lead to the roof. The knob between his fingers was cold as he turn and push the door open. **

**"Starfire?", he called out. Sure enough, Star was asleep on the roof. He quietly walked over trying not to wake her, "Starfire?", he laid his hand on her shoulder and shook her. Star's beautiful green eyes open, she gave Robin a heart-full smile, "Good Morning, Sunshine."**

**"Good Morning to you as well, friend Robin."**

**"What are you doing up here?"**

**"Thinking?"**

**"About us?", Star nodded and got up, Robin sat beside her, "I thought you were a little confused last night."**

**"Why are we force to hide our feelings. I thought ..."**

**"Star its not that we're hiding, but protecting ourselves. If our enemies knew, they could hurt one of us.""Do you mean blackmail?"**

**"Sort of. Star they would know my weakness...you.", she smile at him, " I would never let anything ever happen to you. You are my strength and my weakness.", Star understood most of it, he reached for her hand and held it, "Now come on! Everyone wants to go to the mall."**

**"A mall?", she gave the usual confused look to him again. Robin rolled his eyes and got up.**

**"I'll explain on the way there."**

**Once again, Starfire held tightly to Robin's chest as the road his R-Cycle into Jump city. Behind them was the rest of the team riding in Cyborg's car. The sunlight broke through the clouds, Star could feel it on her back. She was almost dazed from everything the scent of Robin's shirt sent her over the edge. The moment was perfect, well almost perfect. Jinx jumped from building to building trying to keep up with the team. She knew that something seemed different. Why was Robin and Starfire not in uniform? To her, seeing a Titan out of uniform, let alone two, was a very rare sight. Her work was cut out for her, as she followed. Somehow this day would be the starting...of the end.**

**-Hours later-**

**"Robin?"**

**"Yeah, Star?", he looked at her as the two sat on a bench near the food court.**

**"Can I ask something of you?" Jinx was hidden on top of a ledge near the ceiling, listening to every word. She noticed the small gestures that each made for the other. Almost like if they were in love. The feeling was strange and to her jealousy . Jinx kept it hidden that she had a crush on Robin. She wished that it was her down there instead of Starfire.**

**"Robin, please kiss me.", Jinx's heart went into overdrive. The thought of that alien kissing him, tainting him.**

**"Star, we can't."**

**"Just a little one?"**

**"Star!"**

**"Do you not love me?"**

**"Star you know I love you." A light went off in Jinx head as a shyly grin appeared across her face. She believe that she had everything she needed and retreated to the hive.**

**"Then, dear Robin kiss me.", Robin looked around, noticing that no one was looking planted a small kiss on her lips, "Now see that wasn't so bad."**

**"Whatever." Robin rolled his eyes as he placed his arm around her. A smile grew up to his face, Robin loves his Star.**

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**R&R **

**Thank you. Lil-Rahl**


	4. All Tears don't not Fall from Heaven

**Disclaimer applys**

**Part of this chapter was written by Jedi, he helps out when I have writer's block.**

**Thanks for the Reviews!**

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**Chapter 4**

**All Tears do not Come From Heaven**

_**Salutations, Book!**_

**_He loves me! Robin loves me! Bless everything! He calls me his lucky star. We have been spending much of our time on the roof. We even 'made out', I do not understand the meaning of the word. Robin assures me that it means something very good. I am happy that Robin no longer wears his mask around me. His body has relax immensely, expect that large knot keeps occurring every time we do this 'made out' thing. I have ask Robin if he needed medical assistants. Robin always turns red and walks out of the room. I do hope that he is all right. Life is going great. This afternoon we are all celebrating the day I came to Earth. Robin has been very busy and says there is a big surprise for me. I'm hoping for some kosher pickles. Beast Boy gave me one last week, they have a rather distinct taste to them. I shall stop writing now. _**

_**SF**_

**She couldn't believe that it had been a year since she had came to Earth. Star was amazed as she re-read parts of her diary and notice how much she had changed. Though there are still many things on Earth that are strange to her, like the proper use of a slinky. To wonder if this was a dream was no longer a question to her. If this wasn't real, Starfire did not want to wake up. Though this morning had been very dull, Robin got up early and was doing a work out down in the gym. Raven was in charge of decoration and Cyborg and Beast Boy had been in the kitchen, probably arguing over meat or tofu. This meant that Star was not allowed to leave her room. She knew it was meant to be a surprise, but why didn't time have to be so slow?**

**"Hey Star!" Beast Boy walked into her room. She looked at him and smiled.**

**"Salutations, friend! What brings you here?"**

**"Robin told me to come and hang out with you."**

**"Why?"**

**"He felt guiltily that he hasn't been able to spend time with you. He had to go into town the get a few odd and ends."**

**The fact was that Robin was planning on heading to the jewelry store at the mall. The other day when he and Star passed by, she noticed a beautiful locket. Boy Wonder rode his bike all the way into the mall, unaware that someone was following him. Over head, Jinx was keeping a close eye, Gizmo had also joined her to help. The two knew that everything would have to go down today, if they wanted to succeed. Robin pulled into the parking lot and placed his helmet on his seat. He was relaxed, once again he was wearing normal clothes. Robin did like the comfort look, after all wearing tights all the time can get to you. He walked casual into the mall and headed towards the store of his choosing. Jinx and Gizmo were right behind him, knowing that if they were seen, Robin would alarm the other Titans. Jinx already had everything planned.**

**"Okay.", she looked at her dear friend Gizmo, "When Robin comes out to his bike we sneak up on him and you let him have the sleeping gas.", her friend nodded.**

**"That one.", Robin pointed out to the jeweler. He watched as the lady placed the necklace in a box and handed it over to him. He paid and walked out into the parking lot. It was the last thing he saw, well technically, it was the last thing he saw as himself, loving Starfire.**

**-Several Hours Later-**

**He strolled up outside the tower, pondering why? Actually he pondered a lot of whys. He didn't remember anything, but had this urge to get out of these horrid clothes. Why was he wearing them anyway? Robin walked into the tower and up to the living room. **

**"Where have you been?" Beast Boy snapped at him. "You've been gone for hours." Robin ignored him and headed straight to his room. He had to get out of these clothes. What was wrong with him? Not wearing his uniform, not alone his mask. **

**"Something's not right?" Cyborg scratched his head.**

**"Your right. The food sucks." Raven said with out a hint of humor in her voice.**

**"No! Robin is acting strange. As if..." Cyborg was interrupted by Robin re-entrance into the main room. He never said a word as he made his way to the couch and turned on the TV. Starfire walked over to him, hoping that maybe he would speak with her.**

**"Robin? Is there anything that you need?" The Boy Wonder glanced at her for a second, before watch the screen. Star refused to be ignored and stood in front of him.**

**"What?" It was the coldest tone that had ever been heard from Robin's lips and to his Star.**

**"Friend Robin, what troubles you?"**

**"The fact that you are blocking the way."**

**"Please tell me what's wrong."**

**'Nothing!" She was a little taken back by the tone in his voice, but refuse to given.**

**"Robin! I demand you tell me at once!"  
"I TOLD YOU THAT IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUISNESS!" he got up and shoved her out of the way.**

**The rest of the team stared at the once happy couple. Starfire sat on the floor with tears forming in her pretty green eyes. She looked at Robin for any remorse, but found none. Did he not love her anymore? She let the tears fall as she got up and ran to her room. Robin maintain a permanent spot on the couch flipping through channels, he didn't care.**

**"Well", Raven sighed, "so much for a celebration." Using her powers she removed all the decorations she had put up early and placed them in the trash. Cyborg headed for the kitchen to clean the mess, while Beast Boy went down the hallway to check on Star. **

**"Starfire?" he knocked on the door. He could hear her sobbing, it pained him to hear his once happy friend, like this. It wasn't normal for Starfire to cry, then again, it wasn't normal for Robin to attack her. Something didn't smell right, and for once it wasn't Beast Boy's feet.**

**An hour or so later, while everyone was up somewhere apart in the tower, Beast Boy took it upon himself to confront Robin. He wasn't going to see Star hurt like that. He found him in the training room fighting a punching bag. Robin never looked up as his so called friend came up.  
"Dude we need to talk."**

**"About what?" Robin gave the bag a hard left hook.**

**"It's about Star." Robin stopped and glared at him.**

**"Yeah?"**

**"Why did you hurt her feeling? She was just worried about you. Did you know that you were gone for five hours. It doesn't take five hours to go to the jeweler's to buy a necklace."**

**"Something happen."**

**"Like what." Robin turned from him as if he was embarrassed of something.**

**"I ran into someone and I realized that...that I don't love her."**

**"What would make you not love her. You've had your heart set on Starfire for months."**

**"I guess I just realized that it would never work out. She alien and I'm human."**

**"So I green and Terra cared for me. Something must of happen."**

**"Something did."**

**'What?"**

**"I fell in love with her."**

**"Her? Her who?"**

**"Jinx."**

**-A Week Later-**

_**I shall never understand what I did to hurt him. What did I do? I thought that he loved me. I am wrong though. Robin has confessed his love for Jinx. I do not understand why he hates me. My heart is hurt every day that he ignores me. Yesterday, we were notified about a break in at a bank. I tried with all my might to fly, but I am too depressed to. He yelled at me afterwards, saying that I am worthless. Maybe I am. My powers do not seem to be functioning correctly. I think it is the depression. Raven has assured me that it is a broken heart that ales me and only time will mend it. It seems that Robin drifts away from us more everyday. I have caught him twice sneaking out at night to see Jinx. I do not enter vine. I wish him nothing ,but happiness. Whether or not it is with me. Beast Boy is worried that he may leave the team and join the hive. This worries me more. I do not want to think of Robin as an enemy. He is my best friend. I love him, so much. I wish he would notice me again. It's like he is blinded by something, or someone. Cyborg and the others are trying to figure that out as we speak. I on the other hand, lay in my room all day. I am becoming more depressed everyday. I do not wish to smile and I am never visited by dreams. **_

_**Hopefully, he'll come back to me. I do not wish to change, but soon something will have to. I fear it is for the worse.**_

**Star placed her diary once again at her bed side table and hugged her pillow tight. She felt an emptiness that only Robin could fill. She wished she was back in his arms again, but the boat had already sailed off. She closed her eyes and tried to remember that taste of Robin's kisses. A solidarity tear flowed down her cheek, but she didn't wipe it away. She didn't deserve to have it wiped away. The day was going on far too long and Starfire seemed to be gloomier than ever.**

**"Star? Are you in there?" she heard Beast Boy knock at her door. "I want to talk to you."**

**"I wish to be left alone."**

**"It's about Robin."**

**"I do not want to hear it!" she screamed. The tears from her eyes seem to flow more now. Was it the fact that her heart was still yearning for Robin's love or jealously. **

**"Please!" Beast Boy begged her through the door. " I'm worried about you, we all are!"**

**"Please I wish to be left alone," she cried even harder, "I do not wish to be seen like this!"**

**"Oh...! Alright...I thought that you would like to know that Robin just quit and is packing up."**

**"What!" The door flew open revealing a very upset Titan. Starfire ran past her fellow friend and down the hallway. "Please do not be true!" She looked into the room that was his. **

**Robin stood in the middle and looked around at the room that he used to dwell in. He picked his bag up and swung it around his shoulder. He turned and faced a very upset Tamarian. **

**"What do you want?" He said cold.**

**"Robin why are you leaving? Is it because of me?" Starfire wiped another tear away.**

**"Duh! You won't leave me alone! At least Jinx treats me how I deserve to be treated, like a leader."**

**"I do not understand?"**

**"You never do! Your too stupid to comprehend actual knowledge." He yelled at her. **

**"Stop it Robin!" Beast Boy stood behind Star, "She hasn't done a single thing to you and you treat here like this."**

**"Hasn't done anything!" Robin went berserk. "She obsessed with me she won't leave me alone!"**

**"Because I love you Robin!", Starfire screamed. "And you used to love me too."**

**"That's a bunch of bullshit!"**

**"It's not", Raven butted in as she appeared along side Cyborg and Beast Boy. "The two of you have been crazy about each other, you asked her to be with you. Now you turn your back and deny it. That's the bull shit right there." Robin looked at all his so-called friends. He looked at the girl with the sad green eyes. **

**"I don't need all this crap.", he shifted his stance and headed towards the doorway, "and by the way Starfire.", he looked her straight in the eye. "I never loved you!"**

**All the anger that had built inside Starfire was over raging. She clenched her hands close to her sides, trying to keep it all in. Robin walked past her and headed into the hallway, Star shook her head in shock and without a thought she thrusted her fist straight into the back of his head. Her fist impacted like a sledgehammer, driving Robin into the wall across the hallway, crushing the plaster and denting the metal under layer. His backpack flying from his grasp, Robin allowed his body to go slack and tumbled with the blow, smoothly regaining his feet with an acrobat's grace.**

**"Is that the best you've got?" he laughed derisively, "No wonder you were always so little help. What a weakling." Robin, the Boy Wonder, spun on his heel, scooped up his dropped pack, and marched off down the hall. Starfire's eyes blazed with hate and anger, before dissolving into tears of heartbreak. She spun and flew into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her.**

**"Well, that could have gone better," Raven muttered, staring after their departed team leader, "I wonder what's gotten into him?"**

**"It's that minx Jinx," Cyborg replied, "she's got his head so scrambled he's like my breakfast."**

**"And we're just yesterday's dinner," Beast Boy added, "leftovers. Yuck!" he trotted over to the minor sanctuary of the heartbroken Starfire, and knocked softly, calling her name quietly.**

**"Yo, Star, it's alright. We're still your friends, and we're here for you," Cyborg chimed in.**

**Behind the locked bathroom door, Starfire kneeled, sobbing.**

**_But Robin is the one I want, _she thought sadly, _and I thought he and I would be happy forever!_ A sob escaped her throat, and the tears poured anew, like the torrential rains of Noah. Her fists clenched. **

**_But it was all a lie._ The thought struck her as the hammer strikes an anvil, leaving the echoing ring of that one realization. _He lied to me. _Something within Starfire ignited, the fuse to a nuclear holocaust.**

**_He lied._ Starfire's tears stopped abruptly, as if her mind had simply turned off the faucet of grief.**

**_He lied! _Starfire's burning green eyes deadened, iced over, a mask of hatred filming the once-loving orbs. Her hair crackled with energy so intense it was bleached white as bones in the desert heat. The film over her eyes cracked red, shattered, and eyes of intense blood red gleamed with malice.**

**_HE LIED! _The bathroom around Starfire shook, but she took no notice. Ruby red currents of energy crackled around her, gathering, growing, multiplying. _Betrayer, traitor, cheater, _she screamed in the recesses of her hate-crazed mind.**

**_LIER! _The world erupted around Starfire, and disappeared in a blinding flash.

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R&R Please.**

Thank you! lil-Rahl


	5. When Stars go out

**Disclaimer applys**

**Jedi wrote parts in this Chapter.**

**Thanks for Reviews

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**

Chapter 5

**When Stars go out**

**Outside the bathroom, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven were frantically banging on the door, trying to get Starfire's attention. The Tower shook around them, plaster cracking and metal bending. Ozone filled their nostrils, and eerie red beams leaked under the door, charring anything they touched.**

**"What's happening?" Beast Boy shouted.**

**"There are remarkable amounts of energy coming from behind the door." Raven stated frankly.**

**"Oh, really? Anything else obvious we need to know?" the irritated animal-morpher retorted.**

**"Star's in trouble! Stand back! This door's comin' down!" Cyborg shouted, and hauled off to deliver a shattering blow to the door.**

**Then the world exploded.**

**The door erupted outward, shattering in the air, sending fragments of wood flying like spears across the hall. Red waves of energy followed in the wake of the door, further obliterating the wall, incinerating plaster, carpet and wood, and slagging metal. The concussion caught the Titans off guard, hammering them like a tsunami, throwing them like rag dolls. Raven managed to hastily erect a shield and deflect the worst of the sailing debris, ending up sprawled across the couch. Beast boy was hit by a chunk of wood, and spun crazily before crashing with bone-breaking force against the view screen. Cyborg, standing in front of the door, caught the worst of the blast. His left arm was slagged instantly, and he was thrown across the room with the force of a meteor, blasting through the far wall, sending fragments flying, and crashing across the floor before coming to rest rather ungracefully against a pillar.**

**The blast abated, and the stunned comrades gingerly picked themselves up from the remainder of their living area.**

**"Everyone okay?" Cyborg called, staggering shakily to his feet.**

**"I'm alright, but I think Beast Boy took a hard one," Raven called. Cyborg shuffled across the room, emergency lighting glaring angrily off his cybernetic body. Beast Boy lay twisted on the floor, unconscious. A long shard of wood jutted from his shoulder, bleeding profusely.**

**"See if you can wake him, I need to check on Starfire," Cyborg turned to assess the damage and see if he could locate their Tamaranian comrade, and froze.**

**"He broke a rib, so I mended it, but he'll need to get to medical right away. He's coming around..." Raven halted, staring past Cyborg.**

**The bathroom, and most of the walls surrounding it, was gone. The city skyline rose up in the background, a peaceful backdrop to a scene of carnage. And dominating it all, a blood-red orb, crackling with energy, occupied what was left of the bathroom.**

**Cyborg and Raven stared, and the orb settled to what was left of the floor, dying slowly, reluctantly, revealing a figure. The orb split as it died, finally settling around the stranger's clenched fists, pulsing and burning, as if yearning for release. The stranger stood barefoot amongst the burning wreckage. Bone-white hair cascaded down the figure's back, partially covering tattered black clothes. She stood proudly, staring defiantly down at the city.**

**"Oh, I feel like week-old road kill," Beast Boy staggered over, draping an arm around Raven for support, and his gaze settled on the stranger, "and who the hell is that?" he croaked.**

**"I don't know, but she has a lot to answer, starting with, where's Starfire?" Cyborg put more conviction than he actually felt into the question.**

**The stranger still did not move, but continued to stare at the city skyline.**

**"I said, where's Starfire?" Cyborg demanded more forcefully.**

**"She is gone," the voice was feminine, but deep, and carried a strange undercurrent, as if it echoed, even in the open. It was proud and strong, and full of malice.**

**"Okay, perhaps I wasn't specific enough. Where has she gone?"**

**"Away," the stranger finally turned. The tattered clothes barely concealed the shapely body, and her eyes burned with red fire. "She has gone away."**

**"Okay, this chick is getting on my nerves," Beast Boy grumbled, "So, Miss Riddle-Me-That, where, exactly, is away?"**

**"I am away. She has gone away. Now there is only me."**

**"Okay, this is starting to make sense," Raven nodded thoughtfully. Cyborg and Beast Boy stared as if she'd grown horns and scales. "I think this is Starfire."**

**Beast Boy and Cyborg both absorbed the figure standing before them. The clothes were the right cut, if they could be pieced together from the rags, but seemed to have been burned black without being incinerated. Her hair had been bleached white, and her eyes glowed with an angry red light, as did her power, but it was, most definitely, Starfire.**

**"Star! You're okay! Sort of," Beast Boy ran to envelope her in a friendly hug. Without warning, and faster than any of them had ever seen anyone move, Starfire's hand lashed out, backhanding Beast Boy across the jaw. His jaw cracked, and he flew back out into the ravaged living room. Star's eyes ignited, and the power around her hands grew in intensity, until it seemed as if they should burn her hands from her body.**

**"I warned you once, Titan," she hissed, "Starfire has departed. Now there is only me. Do not insult me with inferior titles."**

**"And you are?" Raven inquired steadily as Cyborg knelt to help his aching friend.**

**The stranger who had once been their trusted friend turned once again to the city.**

**"I am Darkfire."**

**"Darkfire, huh? Well isn't that just gothic?" Raven demurred, her hand haughtily resting on her hip. Something about the way 'Darkfire' carried herself spoke worlds about how dangerous the Tamaranian had become.**

**"Be silent, Dark One," Darkfire's words carried an unspoken threat, "Or your treachery shall become a somewhat higher priority than theirs." Darkfire's eyes blazed toward the distant city, pain and hatred leaking through her calm demeanor like water through a sieve, but her power still remaining syruped inside.**

**"Treachery?" the three Titans stared, disbelieving. How could Starfire really be thinking what they believed she was?**

**"Yes, treachery!" Darkfire whirled, a dervish of energy and anger, "Treachery, betrayal, lies! You never loved me! You never cared for me! You only said you did! You care nothing for me!" her eyes glowed dangerously, and her hands lifted from her sides. She floated above the rubble, an angel of vengeance.**

**"Buh, Shtar!" Beast Boy murmured around his cracked jaw, wincing in pain. Raven reached out, channeling a thin thread of energy into the break, sealing it whole, reducing the swelling, "Robin was the one that told you that! Not us! We love you, Star!" his eyes filled with tears, pleading against the wall of confused hatred.**

**"You have been warned, Green One!" Darkfire blazed with energy, "Starfire is gone! Lie to me no more, Betrayer! Just cease your treacherous existence!" Darkfire released the pent-up energy, opening a dam to unimaginable force. It fired from her hands and eyes, blazing forth in terrible, destructive glory.**

**"Down!" Raven yelled, throwing up a shield around the Titans. Darkfire's power hammered the shield, battering it implacably, wearing Raven's reserves down. "Get going, I can't hold it!" Raven urged her comrades, "I'll distract her while you two drop the bitch!" Raven threw all her might into the shield, fighting back against the streams of red fury beating down upon her, incinerating the floor, walls, furniture.**

**Beast Boy quickly morphed, a peregrine falcon, zipping from behind the shield, weaving crazily through the beams of destruction, escaping with singed feathers. Cyborg leaped up through the ragged ceiling, using the upper floor to his advantage, sprinting for Darkfire, ready to drop down and pin her.**

**Darkfire had no intention of giving him that advantage.**

**The beams of energy increased in intensity, bashing Raven's shield back against her. Raven frantically held onto her concentration, knowing that if the shield fell, she would die. The shield became a bulldozer, pushed by the engine of energy poured forth by Darkfire. It pummeled Raven against the wall, beating her into unconsciousness, the shield falling, the wall crumbling atop Raven, beams of energy pouring in with deadly accuracy.**

**Cyborg saw Raven buried under the pile of rubble, saw Darkfire's energy pour in. Cyborg didn't know if Raven was alive or dead, but he knew that if Darkfire wasn't stopped, she intended to kill many more. He prepared to punch a hole down on top of Darkfire...**

**...and the floor erupted upward, Darkfire emerging in a blaze of black clothes and streaming red fire. She grabbed Cyborg by the neck, her grasp leaving dents in the armored neck, and dragged him upward. They crashed through floor after floor, Darkfire seemingly unfazed by the pounding, Cyborg being mercilessly beaten by rubble and debris. They rocketed out the roof of the Tower in an explosion of metal and fire, and continued into the sky.**

**Cyborg struggled against the slender female's grasp, to no avail.**

**"Starfire, listen to me! You are still a Titan. You still have friends! We still need you!" he began to gasp as they rose higher. Darkfire stopped, and raised him up, eye-to-eye.**

**"Liar," she hissed through her teeth, "Watch the city below, and know that for every foot you descend, another betrayer shall die!" she hurled Cyborg downward with unpalleled force, Cyborg rocketing down, a silver meteor in the fading afternoon light. She turned to the city, ready to begin her vengeance.**

**Beats Boy suddenly swooped in above her, changing from peregrine to tiger, landing atop her, digging in his claws for purchase, trying to drag her down, wound her, do anything to stop her. Darkfire seemed to care about none of it. She twisted impossibly, grabbed him by the nape of the neck, and hurled him after Cyborg, following behind, her eyes blazing.**

**Beast Boy fell, finally noticing the plummeting Cyborg.**

**"Hold on, Buddy!" he called as he changed back to his normal form, then continued into pterodactyl morph, folding his wings and screaming after his friend.**

**Cyborg slammed into the roof of the Tower, shattering five square meters of metal and plaster, and continued down, slamming through floor after floor, each slowing his descent fractionally, every millisecond saved another that the reptilian Beast Boy used to catch up. Beast Boy rocketed through the gaping hole in the roof and the floors below, tucking his wings tighter, screaming in fear, fear for his friend, fear for his own life, fear for everyone if they didn't stop Darkfire. Cyborg crashed through the last floor, a 250-pound rag doll, Beast Boy feet behind, opening his wings to change direction, lest he slam into the ground himself, his claws opening, his eyes closing. Time seemed to slow, Cyborg feet from the ground...and Beast Boy's claws grabbed hold of Cyborg's remaining arm, nearly halting his descent, nearly breaking Beast Boy's legs and wings as he strained against gravity...and won. Cyborg's limp body scraped across the ground as Beast Boy shot back up through the destroyed floors, finally dropping Cyborg's broken body back in the ruined living area and collapsing in exhaustion next to him.**

**Cyborg's human eye fluttered open, and the now-human Beast Boy smiled in relief. But Cyborg focused past Beast Boy, at the enraged Darkfire. She screamed in fury and released a fiery beam of energy. Cyborg shakily raised his remaining arm, his energy blaster springing forth and returning a single icy beam.**

**The beams locked, each fighting for dominance, both combatants struggling with will and energy to gain the upper hand. A pile of rubble moved as Raven struggled out from underneath, bleeding from a dozen cuts, more bruises. The exhausted Beast Boy stared in awe at the arisen Raven and the mighty battle. Raven took in the locked beams, slowly being forced back toward Cyborg.**

**"Cyborg, release the beam!" Raven was exhausted, too, but was the only one who could save them. Cyborg glanced over, grimacing, acknowledging Raven's presence and orders with a nod of relief. Raven cast out her hand. "Now!" she cried as her power enveloped the three Titans. Darkfire's power slammed into the shield, shattered, and punched through walls, floors, ceilings, ruptured power cables, ventilators, power generators. The Tower shook, and bloomed into a fireball of immense power, mutilated metals, plasters, wood, glass, flying about in a maelstrom of destruction.**

**When the smoke and debris cleared, the Titan Tower was gone. Darkfire slowly floated above the rubble, searching for any sign of her fallen foes.**

**There was none.**

**Darkfire smiled viciously, turning to the distant city, flying determinedly towards its hated and helpless citizens.**

**Behind her, the smoking rubble of the Tower lay still.

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R&R Please.**

P.S I am indeed gratiful for the Reviews. I like everyone's input and advice, but about Raven and Beast Boy falling in love. That won't be happening. See if Raven were to feel, show or even think about the expression love. She would open a portal to hell and demon monkeys would fly out, because her father can influnce her. If you saw the cartoon you would know what I'm talking about. Don't get me wrong I would love the idea, but I'm trying to make this story go along with the comic characters, how they express their feelingsand how they are based. Believe me when I say that, I have quite a few ideas up my sleeves for this story, but you guys are going to have to trust me.


	6. When Stars hold no answers

**Disclaimer applys**

**I do apologize for the long wait much has happen.**

**Thank you all for your Reviews! They encourage me to write on!**

**Jedi also wrote on this**

**

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**Chapter Six**

**When Stars give on answers**

**Darkfire did not look back at the Tower again. Her foes had met their fate.**

**Sometimes, even Fate has a trick or two.**

**If Darkfire had glanced back but once, she would have seen the rubble shift, and slowly levitate into the air. Raven pulled herself out of the debris, using the rubble as a shield, checking about for the crazed Darkfire. Once Raven had acknowledged Darkfire's absence, she painfully let the pile of rock and metal drop, sinking to her knees in exhaustion, looking about for her fellow comrades. Her mind was reeling. The Tower was gone. Her only home, the only place she had ever honestly loved, was now just debris. The pain of losing it was immense. She quickly brought a grip on her feelings, rising to her feet, bruises swelling agonizingly.**

**"BEAST BOY! CYBORG! WHERE ARE YOU?"**

**"Raven." Beast Boy stumbled over, dragging the broken form of Cyborg. Beast Boy seemed unhurt, if dazed.**

**"Okay, how are you not the train wreck I am?" Raven quipped, wincing at the pain the jibe cost her.**

**"Turtle. Took most of the heavy stuff off the shell. That fall didn't do Cy any good though. Even though he didn't hit the ground, those floors were built to last. He's just lucky they gave way at all. He could have died..." Beast Boy sagged onto a piece of shattered wall, supporting his unconcious friend, tears gathering in the aftermath of what they had just faced, almost lost, and had lost.**

**"That battle could have gone much better," Raven remarked tiredly, examining the remains of the Tower.**

**"She's too strong," Beast Boy commented, "How are we supposed to fight her?"**

**"She's being driven by her emotions," Raven stared off toward the city, helpless before the coming storm, "Somehow, we have to get her to start using her head. Let's go," Raven raised her hood, shadowing her face even further as the sun finally sank below the horizon. In the distance, the glowing orb that was Darkfire disappeared into the city, "There's no reason to stay here."**

**As Beast Boy morphed to better carry Cyborg, the first distant, terrified screams echoed from the city.**

**The defeated Titans turned their backs and hurried away.**

**Along the shoreline of Jump City, amazed onlookers watched the battle rage. They saw the strange red-and-black humanoid pulverize the indomitable Cyborg. Saw the desperate race to save him. Saw the Tower crumble.**

**No one saw the Titans get back up.**

**To every witness that day, a Tower within their heart crumbled. The heroes of Jump City, those who would give everything to save the city, from itself if need be, were no more.**

**What were the people to do?**

**To some, this would be a day of celebration.**

**To many, it was only a beginning to the terror.**

**Darkfire alighted in the middle of Central Avenue, glaring dominantly at the citizens who stared in awe and fear at the stranger in their midst. Anger curled her mouth and ignited fire in her eyes. She glowed with barely-supressed Death. One brave citizen stepped forward shakily, stopping half-a-dozen meters away, carefully examining the triumphant villain. Recognition smeared his features.**

**"Starfire?" he breathed quakily. Her features darkened further, her eyes met his, and she spoke.**

**"Do not insult me, insolent being! I am far greater than your 'Starfire' ever was! I do not suffer the insolence of the betrayer who speak lies of love!" _Let them pay. _Fiery energy, unleashed from the red embers of her eyes, shot forth, slamming into the brave civilian, searing clothes and flesh, and driving him through the brick face of an apartment complex, shattering bones. He was the first of many to fall as Darkfire unleashed her fury on the city.**

**_Let all the betrayers pay._**

**Jinx! Look at the newscast!" Gizmo waved her over, Robin trailing close behind. The screen showed a strange being dressed in ragged black clothes, commanding fiery red energy bolts at anything and anyone. Buildings and people alike fell, bricks and voices mingling in a long, tortured scream.**

**"...the former Titan known as Starfire seems to have gone mad!" the newscaster was screaming over the carnage, "She has already destroyed the Titan Tower, and she is now destroying everything that moves...and everyhting that doesn't, for that matter! There has been no sign of any of the remaining Titans, and the worst is feared. Jones, keep your distance!" the view shrank back a little as the cameraman followed the instructions. The movement only served to attract the voluptous being, and she whirled fiercely, hurling a car like a tinker toy. The view dropped as the cameraman abandoned his equipment and dove for cover as the car flew overhead. The reporter joined the cameraman behind the meager shelter of a rolling concessions stand, which was blow to bits by a bolt of red light. The camera continued to roll, capturing the continual destruction of Jump City.**

**"Your old girlfriend makes quite an impression," Gizmo smirked, "I don't think she appreciates being second-best." he rasied an eyebrow at Jinx, who smiled victoriously. Robin stared silently at the screen. He seemed almost to be watching someone else, as if it were all a bizarre movie made up of characters from his own life.**

**_The city is in trouble_, he thought quietly, _I should be helping...shouldn't I?_ He shook his head in confusion. His thoughts were beginning to jumble again, like he was on the verge of discovering something important, and then tripped moments before reaching it. He shook off the feeling. _Jump City can help itself. I have Jinx._ Again the feeling hit him. He reached out for the impression that teased him, struggled fiercely...**

**FLASH!**

**Green energy bolts raining down on a startled crook. A girl, red-haired, in purple tatters, flying in for the capture...**

**FLASH!**

**Green gloves, his gloves, holding the startled girl as he pulled her from a strange cocoon-like pod, comforting her...**

**FLASH!**

**Strong yet slender arms wrapped around his waist, a gasp of exhilaration as the fairgrounds came into view...**

**FLASH!**

**Tears filling emerald green eyes, eyes that stared in pain and anger...**

**FLASH!**

**"STAR!"**

**FLASH!**

**"ROBIN! Answer me! What's wrong?" Jinx knelt next to Robin. He couldn't remember falling to his knees...or how he had gotten across the room. Tears stained his face, and his hands clenched his head in agony. What was all that? What had just happened? He couldn't remember, except for a flash of green eyes, and a name...what name?**

**"He's very strong. He is beginning to resist." Gizmo stared down at the couple.**

**"I agree. He will have to have constant attention from now on," she took Robin by the shoulders, urging him to look up. His hands unclenched and his head lifting, his eyes misting in confusion and pain. "Look into my eyes, Robin. Sink deep into them..." Robin fell into the swirling vortex, pleasure and need filling him.**

**_My Jinx._**

**He forgot any feelings of confusion, and took Jinx in his arms.**

**She could see the smoke. She could hear the screams. Raven had failed before, in menial tasks. She'd never felt failure like this before. She did her best to hide the emotions that burned in the pit of her stomach. She had no choice, but to remain where she was, hidden in an old run down house until help could arrive. Her eyes stilled glued to the the city, Raven could hear Beast Boy softly sleeping in the background next to Cyborg. Their first big defeat, and without Robin or Starfire, indeed, in essence, caused by them. The team was falling apart, just as Robin had predicted. Now with Darkfire destroying half the city, Raven felt hopeless, yearning to leave and never return. She wanted to fight, knowing that she would be defeated by her close friend in the end. She did not want to die, but worse, she did not want to lose. Raven turned from the window and gazed at the only two friends she had left. She could not let them down. **

**It had been hours since she had contacted Speedy and Bumble Bee, hoping that the Titans East could assist the three in getting proper treatment. Raven now feared that they could have been detained by Darkfire.**

**"Raven?" Baest Boy opened one eye and saw her standing in front of him, "What's wrong?"**

**"Nothing," she calmly stated. Beast Boy bit his lip and stood.**

**"Rav we'll get her back. Star and Robin. We're part of a team and..."**

**"And what? We can't touch Darkfire! She's too powerful. She can penetrate through my forcefields if she tries hard enough."**

**"Robin may know."**

**"Yeah! That's a great idea!" Raven yelled, "And how do you suppose we get to good old 'Robin'? Just walk up to the Hive and knock?" Beast Boy sulked his posture a tad and faced the floor. Raven immediately regretted her outburst. "Hey," she nudged him, "I'm sorry."**

**"Whatever," Beast Boy turned his back to watch over his unconcious companion.**

**"I mean it," Raven persisted, "You're right. We'll get them back. Both of them."**

**"We kinda have to, don't we?" Beast Boy glanced up solemnly.**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"Well, assuming Robin hasn't begun offering Jinx all of our weaknesses on a platter, which, I am sorry to say, is about as likely as finding a live blowfly at a frogfest, 'Darkfire' is still out there blowing up the city we swore to protect, and she seems to be having a grand time of it too. So assuming we actually can get her to stop rampaging like Godzilla on PMS and see reason, we still have to get Robin back from Gizmo and Jinx, who, might I remind you, are terrors enough when they don't know our weaknesses. So, yeah, we kinda have to get them back at some point, or you can bend over and kiss this city goodbye!" Beast Boy folded his arms and hunched down, seeming to withdraw into himself. Raven stared as if seeing a particularly fascinating bug for the first time. She realized he was right, but didn't quite know what to make of his sudden outburst. She thought she saw a tear run down his cheek. Raven gazed off over the city, watching the smoke rising from the destroyed Tower in the distance. She looked down at Beast Boy as realization dawned.**

**"Beast Boy," she knelt next to him, "The vaults are heavily armored. I'm sure Terra is fine, and as soon as the other team gets here, we'll dig her out and move her to the Titan's East Tower."**

**"She's helpless, and alone, and we left her," Beast Boy pined, "We were so worried about saving ourselves that we left her there, alone, unprotected..." Beast Boy dissolved into wracking sobs, letting his head sink into his hands.**

**"Now listen to me," Raven lifted Beast Boy's chin and wiped away a tear with her thumb. It was the most compassionate thing he'd ever seen her do, and it startled him so much he stopped crying, "We were exhausted, and in no shape to dig her out of there. And while we were doing that, we would just be asking for Darkfire to glance back and decide to blow us apart. We can't help Terra exhausted or dead. We did what we had to do to help all of us. Including Terra." Beast Boy's eyes filled again, and he collapsed against Raven. She didn't know what to do, and startled, simply held onto him as he cried against her shoulder.**

**"I miss her so much..." he cried achingly. Raven stared up at the night sky as Beast Boy wept himself back to sleep.**

**_Robin, where in the Hell are you when we need you?_**

**The stars offered no answer.**

**Beast Boy looked over at Raven. Her figure was no longer staring out the window, but laying fast asleep on the other side of Cyborg. She looked troublesome, but then again they all did, well just him, Cyborg was still knocked out. He stared out the window, gazing at the soft glow of the fires burning in the distance. **

**_When will they get here?_ **

**He heard a buzz, and something flitted past his head. He swatted at it but missed. He stood up and looked around, hoping to swat the bug making the noise and try to get some sleep. He turned around to follow the bug and fell over backwards in fright.**

**"GAH! Bumblebee!" his green face turned greener as he scowled up at the leader of the Titans East, who smirked down as Beast Boy scrambled to his feet, "You gave me a heart attack!"**

**"Jumpy little animal, aren't we?" Bumblebee teased.**

**"Yeah, well, if you'd have been the one hauling Cyborg's unconcious metal body up through the remains of your own home, only to have those same remains fall on your head a second later, after having had the holy royal crap beaten out of you by someone you once loved, who now, incidentally, is probably wreaking havok, mayhem and murder on thousands of innocent people, you'd probably be a 'little jumpy,' too." he stalked over to Raven and knelt to shake her awake. Bumblebee's teasing smile had evaporated during the tirade, and she grimly waved the rest of the Titans over.**

**"Hey Rave?" Beast Boy shook her gently. "Bumble Bee is here." Raven nodded and rolled over. She seem to be peacefull as she slept. He didn't have the heart to wake he. Bumble Bee smile towards the two faded as she turn toward Cybrog. It didn't even seem to look like him. His body needed much repair. **

**"Is Cy going to be alright."**

**"Should be." Beast Boy stated while lifting Raven into his arms. "His battery is dead, he'll need to recharge. Where's the others?"**

**"Trying to protect your city from Starfire." She placed her hands on her hips. "What happen to her anyway." Beast Boy lowered his head.**

**"I don't know. That's something that we'll have to figure out when we make it to your tower." Beast Boy shifted Raven in his arms and walked out of the shack and out on to the front yard, where the Titans East plane was settle in between afew trees on the other side of the street. **

**"Come on!" Bumble Bee stood next to him, carrying Cyborg amazinly over her left shoulder. "We need to make a quick getaway before Star takes out my team. "**

**Baest Boy made one good last look at the city that he laved and walked on to the plane. He felt a heavy feeling of guilt on his chest, you know the feeling you get when you get peanut butter on the roof of your mouth. Beast Boy didn't like the feeling, but got on the plane.

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Review please.**

P.s This is to Mysterious Charm. I loved your idea, but you keep it. This story is already has an ending its just in my head. You are pretty close though. Jedi has told me to give you a pat on the back, for being so creative.

P.s.s I am sorry about taking so long, beenhaving problems. I hope to see new reviews and any ideas you may have. I love to hear them.


	7. High Hopes

Disclaimer applys

Co-written by Jedi

Surprise! I updated!

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Chapter Seven

High Hopes

The three downtrodden heroes sat on the couch inside of the Titan's East Tower. The rain poured down on the windows with a force of one of Darkfire's blasts. All of them had the feeling of failure in their hearts, and depression weighted heavily on them. Raven flipped through one of Bumble Bee's books on martial arts. Though in wasn't what she usually read she really didn't have a choice, since all of her books were now ash. Beast Boy and Cyborg watched the newscast about the destruction of their city.

The Teen Titans were now over with, Robin now helping to train the HIVE while Star had gone crazy, and the funny thing was that all this had happened because those two had fallen in love. Beast Boy put a small note in the back of his head to never fall in love with a team member.

_Even Terra?_ the thought crept into his mind.

"Shut up," he mumbled to himself.

"Whazat?" Cyborg asked tiredly.

"Nothin'," Beast Boy responded, still dejected. How he missed her, and because of Darkfire they would have to start all over again on finding a cure for her. He looked at his best friend once more.

Beast Boy had been so afraid they would lose Cyborg after the battle. Cyborg had lost quite a bit of data, plus many mechanical body parts, so everyone was amazed that Speedy and Bumble Bee had put him all back together correctly.

It was still quiet, except for the fact that there was a thunderstorm going on outside. Beast Boy looked at Raven, hoping she wouldn't notice him.

"What?" she answered coldly, not looking up.

"Nothin'," he answered.

"That all you can say today?" she glanced over the top of the book, "what do you want?" she asked again.

"What're you talkin' about?" he asked innocently. Raven tossed the book in the air, and hovered it over to its spot on the shelf.

"You've been looking at all of us like we're aliens or something. You want to say something, so say it!" she hissed angrily, like a snake about to strike. Beast Boy recoiled into himself. He mumbled an answer.

"What was that?" she asked dangerously.

"I said I was just wondering where we went wrong!" he shouted, then collapsed back against the couch, flattening his ears in frustration. Raven and Cyborg both stared at the outburst.

"Beast Boy, we told you we'd get Terra out of there," Cyborg said, "What more do you want?"

"Not Terra, doofus! Starfire! Why did she turn on us? Her friends! Did we not love her enough? Not feed her enough mustard? Not give her enough toilet paper to play with? What did we do?" he collapsed again.

Raven sighed. "Beast Boy, Star is a messed-up chunk of wacko right now, and it's not our fault. Its Rotten the Blunder Boy that did it, not us." she stepped down and put her hand on Beast Boy's shoulder to comfort him, but he shrugged it off.

Cyborg frowned. "Hey guys?" he stood up.

Raven looked over. "What?"

"Robin casued Starfire to freak out, right?"

"Yeah."

"So, essentially, he caused Darkfire to be made?"

"Yeah." Raven frowned, wondering what he was getting at.

"So Robin really caused the breakup of the Titans West, and, inadvertently, the destruction of the Tower, right?"

"Are you going somewhere with this?"

"When did Robin start to act weird? I mean the day he did a complete one-eighty?"

"When he walked off?" Beast Boy asked, starting to get interested.

"No, think back, before that."

"Her birthday." Raven said, bieginning to catch on. beast Boy still stared, clueless.

"Right. He left to get her a gift, came back and..." Cyborg froze, deep in thought. "Get the rest of the Titans down here, now." he whispered.

"Why?" Beats Boy asked.

"Because I think I know what's going on," Cyborg said, "And I think Robin still loves Starfire." The two commragede stared at their mechincal friend before Beast Boy took off in search of Titans East.

"What do you mean you know whats going on?" Raven lifted one eyebrow.

"Look at it!" Cybrog paused for a moment as the rest of the titans were coming in. "Okay. What do we all know about Jinx?"

"She's part of an the criminal cult, HIVE, and she's very acrobatic and a prowerful witch." Bumble Bee stated.

"Correct. Now BB, Rae how did Robin react before going to mall?"

"More cheerful than usally." Raven muttered.

"He was running around the tower trying to get everything together. He was very excited about celebrating with Starfire."

"And after the mall?" stated the large tin man.

"That was like the first time I had ever seen Robin raise his voice at her." Beast Boy annouced.

"It was like..."Raven butted in. "Robin had changed, propbably by force as well."

"You mean?" Aqua Lad spoke up. "Jinx hypnotized Robin?"

"I don't know but it seems pretty logical. I remember at the Academy Jinx once told me that she had a thing for him. I know that she would jump on the chance to get in between Star and Rob."

"Sooooo..." Beast Boy mumbled. "What do you do?"

"What else can we do?" Cyborg shrugged his shoulders. "Get Robin back."

"And how do you susspose we do that?" Raven pulled her hood up.

"We sneak into to the HIVE and get him back."

"Sounds cool." Speedy crossed his arms and laid back on a nearby sofa. "But where do we look for the HIVE?" Cyborg paused nfor a second.

"That's easy" Bumble Bee annouced. "Brother Blood sends the freshmen out to practice on their powers and skills. All you gotta do is look for an area that the crime rate has gone up."

"Good idea." Cyborg smiled at her. "Any ideas?" Bumble bee shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't...um any large cities, probably outside of the states."

"I'll get right on it." Cy then left the room.

"Hold up! I'll come with you!" Bee ran and caught up with him. The rest of the heroes sat in the the main living area and stared uneasily at each other. The sound of the the thunder outside the the tower was the only voice present as each one quietly left to head on with their separate ways.

Raven was still left, sitting on the couch with her eyes shut. She was thinking about the idea of Robin under Jinx power, hopefully her friends were right, they could not be wrong.

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R&R PLZ

I still feel sorry about not updating lately. But next week I should have a lot of time so I get more done. Chapter Eight, 'Behind Hurt Eyes' is almost done!


	8. Behind Hurt Eyes

Disclaimer apply

Jedi wrote

Enjoy!

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Chapter Eight

Behind Hurt Eyes

_'By the way, I never loved you!' _rang through the slender Tamaranian as she stood on top of a tower looking over the once thriving Jump City. Red eyes overflowed with energy, energy that dripped fiery tears to the broken streets below. Her white hair flowed easily with the wind and she stared down upon her territtory. He would never hurt her again. She swore that she would never be hurt again. Starfire was no more. Darkfire was all that was left. A small smile sprawled upon her face and she laughed heavily to herself. Her voice carried on the air. The sound of her voice was dark and raspy, but faintly, something softer, lighter. Like a lone star in the blackest night.

_What did I do? I thought he was happy!_ With every second, the fire of that Star grew dimmer as the clouds closed in, consuming the light.

Far inside the dark, that Star looked around her prison. It was familiar. It felt like home, but it was not home. She could almost see her room in the Tower, but she was trapped. There were no windows. There were no doors. Her hair was pale and drawn, and the sparkle in her eyes had been lost beneath all the tears she had cried. Starfire was weak as she lay in her bed. Her body was thin and frail. She was exhausted. A thousand thousand battles could not have drained her so. But one single failure had. '_But how did I fail him?' _The recesses of her mind gave no answer.

Tamaranians are lead by their emotions and feelings. Happy emotions make them soar into the air while anger will unleash its glowing energy. Yet, when one's emotions are flipped around so there is no longer happiness and joy, but hatred and depression, the Tamaranian will turn on everyone, to the exclusion of every moral virtue. The individual will split in internal conflict. Starfire now had two personalities.

_What have I become? _Starfire wept in her head. _I am a monster, and no one can stop me...not even myself. _She shook the idea from her mind. Her friends had never failed her.

**_'But they did!' _**the voice came forth, **_'I destroyed them! They FAILED!' _**The darkness in her mind encroached upon her. The thought that her friends were at a loss set heavy in her mind. Star did not want to be right, but the pain of it was going to kill her if Darkfire wasn't stopped. If she wasn't stopped.

The only thing Starfire had now was the sweet memories of Robin, how he held her in his arms and promised her the world. She sometimes caught herself wondering if he could be the one. She was still in love with him, even after the fact that he had left her for another. Even in her position, Starfire tried to look at the brighter side of life, like the fact there was still Beast Boy, Cyborg, and most of all Raven there who loved her. She wonder if they were all right. Starfire gazed once again around her room, hoping that she might see something that she could use to get out, but just like the last one hundered times, no such luck. She was going no where, Darkfire was going to make sure of that. Darkfire was now in charge and for what it seemed she wasn't going to let go of it anytime soon.

Finally Star pulled her diary off the the side table and began to write in it. Sure it wasn't her real diary, but for the time being it would be here in her mind.

_**To wonder if **_

_**in my dying moments**_

_**,that is soon to be**_

_**If he'll be there **_

_**with love and care **_

_**and need me**_

_**My heart**_

_**Broken**_

_**My tears**_

_**Are Dry**_

_**Still My Robin **_

_**Sore up high**_

_**Darkness won**_

_**Love has lost**_

_**He's cold to me**_

_**Like snow's first Frost**_

_**So will it be**_

_**To him**_

_**Or to me**_

_**The one who falls**_

_**Into the sea**_

A small smile seem to lighten Star's face for the first time in weeks. It was the first depressing poem she had ever written. Though it didn't make her happy to reread it, the feeling that she pushed a overwhelming weight off her back was greatly noticed. Then Starfire's thoughts went back to Robin, and wondering if he was happy. Star may have hated Jinx, but if Robin loved her then she would not interfere with the rules of love.

Tears once more formed in the beauty's eyes as she started to cry heavily into her pillow. Letting go of any control that she had over her body, she gave in to the shadows. The Dark laughed at the fading Star as if watching a dim fire finally die out. The creature born of a moment's endless anger mocked her in misery.

**_'You LOVE him? After all he's done to you? You pitiful, pathetic creature! You are nothing! How dare you forgive that vermin! He's worthy only of Death!' _**The creature that was Darkfire screamed at herself, at the fading light of her former self, who cried in defeat and acceptance.

The brave warrior stood proudly over her territory, gazing at the pillars of fire and smoke, the screams for help and death. They all would have betrayed her in the end anyway. This way she would not be hurt. How funny it was that a little bird could do her such harm. Darkfire vowed to her self that he would pay for what he had done to her. She vowed that he would die by her very own hands. She would shred him in one mighty blow. This was a vow that was soon to come. After all, she had destroyed the Teen Titans. Now the rest shall follow.

And she would rule a world in which no one would ever betray her again.

"So Robin, what's up for the day?" Jinx asked as she cuddled closer to him. The young man did not answer, but instead stood still staring at an invisible void. "Robin?" She tapped his shoulders. He soon shook his head and stared at her and smiled.

"Sorry, must have drifted off for a sec. What did you want?"

"I wanted...Robin?" He eyes were drifting back again into open space, he was thinking about... her...again. Once more the thought of her lips pressed to his while her body throbbed with passion next to his chest. Tangling his hands in her auburn red hair. Who was this girl that took his breath away? Why would he think of another girl besides Jinx? Something was wrong, Robin knew that it wasn't right. The feeling that he was betraying every feeling in his gut. "ROBIN! WILL YOU ANSWER ME?" Once again Robin jumped from his thoughts.

"What?"

"What are you doing?" Her eyes glared madly at him. "You don't seem to notice me anymore."

"Sorry, Jinx" he smiled as he slid his arm around. "I've had a lot on my mind."

"Really?" she paused and stared into his eyes that hid behind his mask.

"Yeah, nothing big." he lied.

"Robin." Jinx stared even closer into her eyes. Robin's mind seem to turn and swirl, he was becoming dizzy and then lost track of the hot red head. "Now what were you saying?"

"I...can't remember."

"I think you were dicussing what you and I are going to do tonight." Robin smiled.

"And what do you want to do?" he put his arms around her and held her close.

_Why does this feel wrong?_ He thought to himself. Jinx didn't really see that Robin was mentally stronger than he looked. Her power was becoming weaker. The only thing that was keeping Robin's head above the troubled waters was the thought of Starfire's smile. _Why can't I think? Do I even love Jinx?_ Robin let go of Jinx and made an excuse to leave. He had come to suspect that something wasn't right. Everytime he would wander and question things he seemed to get dizzy. Robin had figured that Jinx was the cause of it, so what was she hiding from him?

He slowly walked down the hallways of HIVE Academy, the feeling of guilt came back. Why was it there? Sure he sometimes missed the glory of being a hero, but Jinx would never accept him as an enemy. Joining the HIVE was the only way that he could be with her. Robin trailed his hand along the wall as he wandered down the lonely corridor. Maybe the feeling was because he changed his job description? Beast Boy was very upset that he had left, that red head chick, who's name had seemed to have slipped his mind had tears in her eyes. Things had gotten out of hand at the Tower. Okay, way out of hand. Still, Robin wanted to make sure the four were all right. Changing his pace, the once great leader jogged down to the main communications room. As he walked on, he thought of the happy times with Beast Boy and Cyborg, when they played the gamestation, or having deep thought decision with Raven, but every thought came with a price. Robin always found happy thoughts with a beautiful red head..._WHY COULDN'T HE REMEMBER HER?_ Robin lay awake at night trying to remember what her name was, had once even gone to Jinx about the problem, who told him that he was better off forgetting her, but he didn't want to forget this beautiful creature that blessed her memory in his mind.

"Robin?" Jinx walked up from behind him. "What are you doing in here?" He thought about lying again, but he decided to play a Wild Card.

"I just wanted to check up on my old team mates."

"What!" She screamed. "What the hell are you thinking! They might find out where we are!"

"Why?" Jinx paused for a second, trying to keep her cool, she just about slipped out her planned.

"Um...They were mean to you, that group doesn't deserve your attention!" Robin laughed at her.

"Beast Boy and Cy are like my best friends, why would they hate me?"

"I mean you are not welcome, you betrayed them."

"It's not the first time, they took me back after I was Slade's apprentice." Jinx looked as if she was ready to pull her hair out. It would of been funny to see her bald, but no, she took a deep breath and talked quietly.

"You can't talk to them."

"And why not?"

"Because...they might not turn on you, but they have no love for the HIVE! They could trace the call...come here!"

"Really?" Robin stared at her.

"They could..."

"Yes?"

"Well?"

"They detroyed the Tower and disbanded."

"WHAT!"

"You heard me."

"You can't be serious?" Jinx walked past and turned on what seemed to be a news reel. She looked once more at him and walked out. Robin's eyes opened and jaw dropped. It wasn't there. The Tower that he had helped Cyborg build was no longer. He clenched his fist tightly, he knew it was going to be a hard blow when he left, but why this, and by the way. Why did he care? Once again he shook his head followed in hot pursuit of Jinx, his so-called reason for living.

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R&R please 


	9. Titans! Go!

**Disclaimer: applys**

**I am so sorry about not updating. First the computer goes on the fritz, then I can't find the new chapters. Chapter Nine is all Jedi and I found.So the last two days I've been trying to remeber the last couple of chapters because after this one a lot of important things happen. I got some time and hope to work on getting back on track. Again I am sorry to all my readers. This Chapter isn't long, but it's still has it somewhat importance.**

**Jedi helped write this Chapter. **

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**Chapter Nine**

**Titans! Go!**

For many days, they worked hard. Was there any hope? Raven would have already said no, but inside, everyone held onto a small wish for success. The Titans West worked hard, along with Titans East, following every lead that came up on the main computer. The time spent searching took most of everyone's energy, mostly Cyborg, who was now linked up to the system day and night. CNN was now informing the world that they were launching a full out assualt on the menacing Darkfire, who now dominated the ruins of Jump City. Covert military operations were searching the ruins, silently evacuating the remaining civilians. The Titans watched the operations, praying for every wounded person dragged from the rubble, saddened by the vast numbers of dead.

Beast Boy quietly watched the newscasts. Out of the corner of his eye, a column of soldiers caught his attention. They were searching the rubble of a building. And from the building behind them rose an unholy apparition wreathed in red fire.

"Oh, no..." Beast Boy whispered...

"Sargeant! Get those troops on that section there! And bring up those forklifts! We gotta clear this wall!" Lieutenant James C. Frederick yelled orders to his troops. He had always known it would come to this. Caped weirdos flying around and using the city as their battleground. No good, the whole lot of them. "Davis! You knumbskull, move the rubble into the street, not onto the rest of the rubble! We're tryin' to clear the secton, not bury it!" Private First-Class Robert F. Davis turned to acknowledge the order. His eyes widened and he opened his mouth to scream, and was engulfed in flame as a huge red explosion cleared in less than a second what it would have taken the men hours to clear. The rubble deposited itself on the heads of the men, crushing them. The screams of the dead and dying floated through the smoke. Frederick picked himself from the pile, in time to see Darkfire shriek by overhead, incinerating two privates in one fiery blast.

"Sargeant! Bring in the tanks!" Frederick looked around for his commanding sargeant, only to find him buried under half a section of brick wall. Frederick pulled the comm unit free: "Alpha Base, this is Emergency Search and Rescue Three, repeat

"ESR-3, come in, Base!"

"Alpha Base here, go ahead 3."

"Priority One! Send in the artillery! Repeat..." Frederick's last statement was lost as Darkfire materialized out of the smoke, grabbing his throat and heaving him across the street, through one of the few standing walls. When Frederick hit the ground, he felt nothing. _Funny,_ he thought as darkness closed in, _No pain_...

Beast Boy watched the viewscreen intently as tanks rolled up the street. _That officer must have got off a message. Good luck to ya', Buddy _he thought at the screen. The tanks raised their cannons at Darkfire, and his heart leapt as the three artillery units opened up with both cannon and machine gun. Darkfire disappeared in a fiery cloud, and Beast Boy watched closely.

_ Unconscious, please, not dead, just knocked out, give us a break..._but the cloud drifted away to show Darkfire glowing brighter than ever, raising her hands, intense with red fury, and dropping a ball of energy on the tanks, shredding their armored hulks, and levelling the rest of the buildings on the block. She glanced dispassionately at the devastation, then floated off in search of other prey, leaving death and destruction in her wake.

"I've been going over the data." Cyborg looked as if the computerized half of his body was the only thing keeping him on his feet. Seventy-two hour sessions plugged into the networks of every law enforcement agency on the planet, followed by three hour breaks for rest and food, had taken their toll on the Titan. He stood, wavering on his feet, in front of the main viewscreen at Titans East. At key points, the screen would change to update the data he presented. "I cross-referenced several important factors. Sudden spikes in criminal activity, long-term dealings, including weapons, drugs, and money trafficking, large payoffs to known crooked officers, and the most important, suspected superhuman activity and sightings." for each point he made, red dots popped up across the map of the world. Three areas contained highly concentrated amounts of the spots. "We've got three winners: Berlin, Germany and Sydney, Australia are two," the two areas enlarged, showing the layouts of the cities and geographical region maps, "The third is an area just off the coast of Hawaii, along a major trade route used by, take a guess."

"Military supplies?" Bumble Bee and Raven chorused.

"Bingo. Seven ships disappeared in this area," a green circle highlighted seven of the red dots, "without a trace."

"Okay, so we've got our winners, what do we do?" Beast Boy inquired.

"I say we take each area, one at a time, and investigate thoroughly." Bumble Bee spoke up.

Raven, leaning against a wall, shook her head: "No, we don't have that much time. Darkfire grows stronger every day. The more she destroys, the stronger she gets. Soon, she'll have nothing left in Jump City, and will move on. My guess is, she'll come here, to finish off the Ttians. We need to split up and search each area as quickly as possible. Robin may be the only chance we have of stopping Darkfire, so we have to find him fast."

"I agree," Cyborg announced, "I hate rushing into things, but we are out of time. Bumble Bee, Aqualad, I want you two to check out Hawaii. Your best bet is to trail the military supply fleet heading out that way. Mas, Menos, and Speedy, I want you to check out Berlin. You might want to brush up on your German."

"No problemo!" Mas and Menos chorused.

"Yeah, work on that. Raven and Beast Boy, you're coming with me to Sydney."

"Cool!" Beast Boy chimed in, "To the land down under, where I, Beast Boy, am king!" he puffed his chest out arrogantly.

"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever 'King.' Look, the sooner we get going, the sooner we find Robin, so we've got no time to lose."

"Hold it there, Metalhead," Raven spoke up, "You're no good to us half-depleted. Same goes to everyone else. We've all been burning the candle at both ends. Twelve hours sack time, then everyone report to the ready room."

"Sounds good," Bumble Bee said, "I could use a little nap."

"Si! Siesta!" Mas and Menos touched and zipped from the room toward the dormitories.

"All right. Twelve hours from now. Have a nice sleep, everyone." Cyborg staggered from the room, Beast Boy discreetly slipping an arm around his companion to help steady him as they went to rest for their search.

_Who am I anymore?_ The creature called Darkfire pondered form her rooftop perch. _What is my purpose? Is betrayal all I have ever known? With every life I take, I am emptied further, but somehow more whole. The power within me builds. But I find no purpose to my existence, except to destroy. Something inside me is dying. But what?_

_Who am I?_

"All right! Time's a-wastin' people! Let's get our rears in gear and find our hexed hero!" Twelve hours had rejuvenated Cybor and his friends, and they were all ready to go, their spirits lifted with the evidence their robotic companion had uncovered. "Bee, Aqualad, take the T-Sub. Mas, Menos, Speedy, you've been lent a ride. Try not to scratch it." The bay lit up, and there in the middle, sat a gleaming black Batwing. The Titans stared.

"Holy crow..." Beast Boy drooled.

"Batman wanted to come, but something about the Joker came up, so he lent us one of his jets. I've modified it to fit all three of you."

"Wow..." Speedy's mouth hung open.

"Like I said, don't scratch it. Raven, BB, come with me." The other two teams hurried to their rides, Mas and Menos zipping into the jet and surveying the cockpit, 'ooh'ing in glee.

Cyborg led Raven and Beast Boy back to the garage, which sat in total disarray, tools lying about. The T-Car sat in polished splendor in a cleared area in the middle.

"I've modified my Baby to hover, and installed SR-71 class boosters," the rear of the car was much bulkier than they had seen before, "so this will be our ride to Sydney. Hop in."

The three Titans got in, Cyborg sliding behind the wheel. The ignition was missing, and in it's place were two switches, which he flipped. The car began to hum, a sound that built in pitch as it's new engines revved up. When the sound had built to peak intensity, Cyborg flipped a third switch and the sound died off.

"Sound dampening field, so we don't ruin our ears yelling over the engines. Hang on." A fourth switch opened the garage door, and Cyborg crushed the throttle stick forward. The T-Car blasted from the garage in a jet of flame as the two Blackbird engines kicked in afterburners. Immediately in its wake came the Batwing, followed by a streak in the water that was the T-Sub. Speedy, at the Batwing's controls, waved to Cyborg, before pulling an extreme loop and screaming towards Berlin. Cyborg held pace above the T-Sub, heading across the Pacific. He would part with the sub about halfway to Hawaii. His Baby had plenty of fuel to reach Sydney.

Every Titan stared off to the horizon, to his or her destination, hoping beyond hope that when they reached that far-off barrier, their friend and leader would be there for them.

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Please Read and Review.

Promise to get a couple chapters up soon.

(I shout to give a shout out to my very best friend, Jedi, who practically wrotemost of this chapter. Without him, I don't think I would have gotten Chapter Nine done so soon. Love ya!)


	10. Searching

**Disclaimer applys**

**This Chapter was totally written by Jedi. So everyone give him a good pat on the back. **

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Chapter Ten

**Searching**

**Berlin, Germany - 12:05 AM**

"Anything, you two?" Speedy whispered to the twin Titans. Mas and Menos shook their heads before returning to their watch. The three Titans had been tracking down leads all through the city, using force and persuasion to extract information from the many thugs and lowlifes they'd come across. For the longest time, they had found nothing, until a small snippet from a terrified crook had led them to an abandoned warehouse district. The crook was in the custody of the Berlin Police, having fainted moments after giving the Titans a single name.

Speedy returned to his own survey. The old Berlin storage houses were dark and quiet. The streets were empty. '_Except for that one,'_ Speedy smiled to himself. A shadow had begun to stretch up an empty alleyway, hollow footsteps echoing through the cold streets.

A short, squat man with nervous eyes and shaking fingers emerged from the alley, low lamplight stretching his shadow across other alleys and side streets. His eyes flitted to the elongated shadows, before narrowing as he finally stepped all the way into the street, heading for one of the warehouses. He carried an old, beaten briefcase, but despite its apparent years of use, he carried it like a fragile heirloom. He had taken two steps, when he heard a twang and a sharp hiss, terminating in a thunk, and he felt the briefcase torn from his grasp. It thudded into the wooden pole across the street, and amazingly, stuck there as if the wood were magnetic. His eyes widened and he whipped around in a circle, to find empty shadows. _Ghosts!_ his scared mind cried out. He ran to the case, trying to wrench it from the pole. Through his fog of fear, he realized that the briefcase was pinned to the pole by an arrow. His eyes, already wide in fear, widened even further. He yanked at the arrow until it tore free, dropping the briefcase to the ground. He bent to pick it up.

"Herr Gottsch," a young, but authoritative voice spoke out behind him. He whirled to see a young man in a red and yellow costume, carrying a bow, emerge from the shadows of the alley, "I believe that's mine," the young man said in fluent German. Hans Gottsch looked incredulously at the arrow in his fist, then back to the ridiculous young lad, wanting to laugh in amazement and cry in fear at the same time. He felt a whiz of air rush by him, and looked down again. The arrow was gone.

"Gracias, Senor!" two small people in white costumes, one standing on the other's shoulders, now held the arrow up towards the archer, who accepted it graciously while the two midgets smiled at Hans.

"Now, Herr Gottsch," having his name spoken again by the ludicrously clad archer finally snapped something in Hans Gottsch's mind. He screamed, before turning and running as fast as his stubby legs could carry him.

The arrows were faster.

Six penetrated his clothes at arms and legs, pinning him, face to the wall, by his clothes. Tears ran from his eyes as he heard the youth approach.

"Herr Gottsch, I know that the warehouse back there is your private 'distributing company,' and I could care less," Gottsch could feel the lad lean close and whisper in his ear, strangely kind and menacing at the same time, "what I want to talk about, are the bees and their home."

The briefcase hit the ground again.

The two midgets giggled gleefully.

**Sydney, Australia - 1:05 PM**

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there yet?"

"No!"

"How about now?" Cyborg's fists clenched around the wheel as he gritted his teeth. Beast Boy had been incessant for the last half hour, ever since Australia's coast had come into view. He glared at Beast Boy's grinning face in the rearview mirror.

"Listen up, Fuzzbrain, I'm as tired of sitting in this car as you are, and that's saying something, so shut your yap, or I throw you out and land this thing on your head!"

"And you listen up, Boltbrain! Your big, metal monstrosity of a rear end can't get cramped like the Brady Bunch in a one-seat outhouse, so get this thing to Sydney, before I turn you into the car, and take you in for a landing!"

"As if you could! The car you turn me into would have a higher IQ than your entire beastial repetoire put together! If your ass hurts, turn it into a turtle and stuff your head up it!"

"Oh, really..." Beast Boy and Cyborg continued the ranting that had become their favorite pasttime over the long flight. Raven smiled, relieved that, for the first time since this whole ordeal had begun, things were somewhat normal. '_Then again,' _she thought, '_what's normal anymore?'_ She glanced out the window at the water streaking by. Perhaps in Sydney, they might find the clues that would lead them to Robin.

To their leader.

Their friend.

**Pacific Ocean, 60 miles South of Honolulu - 9:05 AM**

Bumble Bee stared toward the surface. Being underwater made her uneasy. She preferred open air, where there wasn't a zillion gagillion gallons of water pressing in from every side, smothering, drowning...she shook herself out of her trance, and instead studied her reflection in the glass canopy of the T-Sub.

"Anything?" Aqualad asked quietly.

"Nothing."

"Hmm..." Aqualad scratched his head, "We've been searching for hours now. The fleet made it in perfectly safe. I'm starting to think that Cyborg was wrong about the location."

"No. Cy's right. Brother Blood's HIVE can be very well hidden." Aqualad smiled.

"You know, Bee, sometimes you just really sound like..." Aqualad trailed off, shaking his head and smiling to himself.

"Like what?"

"No... it's nothing."

"Like what, Aqualad?" She stared at him until he flinched under her gaze.

"All right, all right, you win, I give! Bee, you just, I don't even know if you realize it, but...you just...I just..."

"Spit it out, Waterboy." Aqualad gave her a dirty look before withering under her glare.

"You just, you really sound like you're, you know, kinda sweet on RoboBoy."

"Cyborg, and I don't have the hots for him, I respect him!" Bee was indignant, but her face was turning red.

"Enough so that you've got his picture in your diary?"

"WHAT?" Bee's face turned maroon in fury.

"Oops, shouldn't have said that," Aqualad flinched apologetically, but a bling from the radar caught his attention, "but you'll have to hold off on maiming me just now, we've got four contacts coming up from a trench just ahead, heading for shore, eta, 5 minutes."

Bee's face was still red, but she also snapped back to the task at hand.

"Do they know we're here?" she asked worriedly.

"Your RoboHoney custom-built this thing. The entire U.S. Navy couldn't find us if we were sitting on top of their flagship." Bumble Bee glared at him. "He's not my 'RoboHoney,' and follow at a discreet distance. We have to find out where they came from, and where they're going."

"Thank you, Commander Obvious, will do." Aqualad corrected course, tailing the departing vessels as they headed for shore.

**Berlin, Germany - 7:15 AM**

"All right, if what that tub of lard told us is true, this is the correct area," Speedy whispered. He had interrogated Hans Gottsch for three hours. He had given them a general area to search, and laughed when he told them they couldn't miss it, before fainting. Speedy had called the police and left Gottsch pinned to the wall.

Now Mas, Menos and Speedy were searching the countryside outside of Berlin for...something. Whatever it was, if Hans was right, it would be fairly obvious. Clouds were scattered across the sky, letting through occasional shafts of moonlight. One such shaft illuminated a pile of rock not too far away. It was humongous. He went to take a seat, Mas and Menos zipping up next to him.

"Now, he said that what we're looking for would be obvious, so it must be something unnatural, man-made."

"Si, Senor. Like the rocks."

"Huh?" Speedy looked at the twins, puzzled.

"The rocks, Senor. They are not natural. They are too square."

"What?" Speedy looked at the pile of what he had thought were large rocks or small boulders. They were actually carved stone blocks, about four feet square. He got up and circled around the pile. The base, although crumbled and buried beneath the upper layers, was perfectly round.

"What is it, Senor?"

"It's an old World War Two Nazi guard tower, for heavy fortifications," Speedy traced a hump of ground into the distance, "this was an outer fortification, probably one of several before reaching the main building," he looked into the distance, and saw in the harsh moonlight several crumbled walls, and in the distance, a small black dot that could be a building, "and it looks like we've got a bit of travelling, still. Let's go." He started in the direction of the fort.

"Si, Senor!" Mas and Menos stepped in with him toward the building, while the morning fog began to rise.

No one saw the small red light, burning hotly in the rock pile.

**Sydney, Australia - 8:15 PM**

"Okay, why are we out in the middle of nowhere again?" Beast Boy asked for the sixth time. Cyborg growled and Raven sighed.

"Because that moron back in the city told us we would find the HIVE out in this area," Raven replied calmly, "It's probably inside one of those mesas out there. They're large enough and thick enough to hold just about anything." The red mesas in the distance wavered in the misty fog that had settled over the area.

"That's a pretty good bet, I'd say," Cyborg replied, "but how are we supposed to know which one to search. You shouldn't have scared him so much, Rave, he could have given us some more intel."

Raven looked over apologetically. "I'm sorry, but he was clamming up. He wouldn't even have given us this much if I hadn't pushed as hard as I did."

"I know, I'm just cranky that this is taking so long. Okay, I'm going to use a satellite link to see if I can download a map of the area. Hold on..." Cyborg froze for a second as he linked with the orbital satellite, downloading the map. "All right," he said when he came back online, "this area," he projected a hologram of the area on the ground, with five mesas highlighted in red, "forms a perfect pentagon."

"Can't five mesas form a pentagon without being suspicious?" Raven asked. Beast Boy just stared.

"Yes, but not a perfect one. Each mesa contains key points that form a circle," a red ring enveloped each mesa, touching at least three points on each, "and from the center of each circle to the next," red lines connected the center points of the circles, outlining a pentagon, "forms a pentagon. Now every interior angle of a perfect pentagon is one-hundred and eight degrees. These angles are..." angle measures popped up for each angle, "all one-hundred and eight degrees."

"Okay, I'm convinced."

Drool ran from Beast Boy's hanging jaw, and he shook his head. "Okay, if you're convinced, I guess I am, too."

"Now, from the vertex of each angle, if you draw a line straight across the pentagon, they will all intersect in the center, and our coordinates are..." as each line was drawn, the coordinates for the center of the pentagon came up, "there! That's our spot!"

"What are we waiting for?" Raven asked, "Let's go!"

"Uh, sure." Beast Boy morphed, and a kangaroo, a cyborg, and a mystic started for the strange formation of mesas.

No one saw the small red light, burning from a nearby cactus.

**Oahu, Hawaii - 4:15 PM**

"What do you think this place is?" Bumble Bee asked.

"It looks like a storage facility. Under that canopy," Aqualad pointed toward an oversized, jungle camoflaged tent canvas stretched between four poles, "are a bunch of boxes. They're all tagged, but I can't read them from here."

"Leave that to me. This place is filled with odd bugs, I'll fit in fine." Bumble Bee zipped past Aqualad's head, immediately invisible amongst the many insects that hovered about constantly. Aqualad watched her disappear amongst the ferns, then turned back to the camp far below.

Amongst the jungle-camoflaged men and boxes, Bumble Bee searched for some answers. She saw the boxes stacked up across the compound, and zipped closer. The inscription on the side of the box was easy to read from here. It stated in large, black lettering:

**Serial#K398-F731**

**M-16 Assault Rifle**

**50 CT. Use care when handling.**

"Oh, yay," Bumble Bee muttered. All the boxes in the stack were labeled the same. She zipped to the next stack. It read:

**Serial#F576-Z831**

**L.A.W. A-T Missile Delivery System**

**10 CT. Use EXTREME caution.**

"Even better," Bumble Bee groaned as she zipped to the next stack. The inscription read:

**Serial#G435-X579**

**Stinger Missile**

**1 CT. Authorization REQUIRED.**

Every box had the words **U.S. Military **stenciled on them.

Her mood sinking, Bumble Bee turned and zipped back to the ridge where Aqualad was perched.

"So?" Aqualad inquired. Bumble Bee sank down on a tree stump.

"This is where the shipments of supplies go. I'm willing to bet those ships are down in that underwater rift valley."

"This is even better. Come here," grinning, Aqualad motioned her over to the break in the foliage they had been using to spy on the camp, "and watch that guard over there." pointing, Aqualad stepped out of her way.

"What am I looking for?" asked Bumble Bee as she watched the guard.

"You'll see," Aqualad answered, "they check in every ten minutes."

"With who?" Bumble Bee asked, stopping short with a gasp. The jungle behind the guard seemed to simply part, revealing a doorway into a tunnel lined with wires and electrical boxes, brightly lit with overhead lights. Aqualad smiled.

"Do you notice the seams of the door? They line up perfectly with the surrounding jungle. A lot of work went to hide this facility. I'd bet anything they're decked out with barracks and control centers and everything in there."

"As good a place as any to look for the Boy Wonder."

"I say," Aqualad grinned, "we need to get in there."

"Let's get to it." Bumble Bee urged, moving off into the jungle mists.

Neither saw the small red light, burning from the foliage above.

**The H.I.V.E. Facility**

"Well, my little bird, how are we doing from our little nap?"

"Little dizzy, but otherwise I'm fine." Robin whispered hoarsely. Jinx had been keeping him awake long hours, then allowing him little sleep, breaking down his thinking so that he would be more open to suggestion. Tired people rarely thought very well.

"Glad to hear it. Come now, we have work to do."

"Yes, Jinx." Robin pulled himself groggily from the cot, and followed her to the command center.

"Our little 'Darkfire' has certainly given us a good show. But she is running out of city to destroy. She will soon move on. I predict she will probably head off to find those pesky Titans East geeks."

"I wish I could help them. They're my friends."

"They're big boys and girls, they can take care of themselves."

"True, but a little help never hurt. Maybe we could all go and help them? This Darkfire seems like a nasty customer. They may be in over their heads."

"Oh, I'm sure they'll be fine. Don't worry your little bird-boy noggin' over them."

"Still, do you think maybe we could check in on them?" Jinx gave him a dark glare, "No, I guess not. You're right. They'll be fine. Besides, Darkfire's Tamaranian, and they have that Tamaranian chick, what's-her-name, with them. I'm sure they'll be fine." Robin kept trying to reassure himself, but his inability to remember the name of one of his own teammates troubled him. Even more so, the idea that that teammate should have been easier to remember than any of the others. He shook himself out of his reveree as Gizmo clanked into the room on his spidery metal legs.

"Jinx, turn to camera two, we've got visitors." Jinx flipped over, to picture of two Titans moving through the light mist.

"Well, well. It seems your friends are okay, and have come in search of their poor Boy Wonder. Shall we send them a little welcoming gift?" Jinx reached for the button marked "Perimeter Defense," grinning wickedly at the screen, "Hello, little Titans, it's time to die."

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